Finding skeletons in your closet
by Starlett-chan
Summary: What happens when Sophie meets someone from Howl's past? and why does he not remember her?
1. Chapter 1

Today wasn't any different from each of the ones that had come before it. At least, that's what she thought. Every day she got up, checked for danger, and if there was any, shifted their position accordingly. It would not do for them to be discovered by the one person, well, wizard actually, that would no doubt eventually find them anyway. She knew that it was futile for her to hide them, but she had to try. Her magic had never been, and would most likely never be, more powerful than Howl's. She knew, and hated, that he would eventually find them, and on that day she would have to explain herself, and he would be crushed, and then he'd probably disown her and her children.

He just didn't know that they were his children as well.

For six years, she'd hidden from him, protecting her precious children. They were a miracle, to say the least. It was unheard of to give birth to two children of the opposite sex at the same time, but she had done it. She supposed they had never recorded a birth between two magicians.

Her oldest, by about five minutes, was her daughter, Natalie. Unbeknownst to most, she was named for her father, who had most likely forgotten his true name in order to hide it from anyone wishing him harm. For every witch and wizard knows that the greatest weapon an enemy can have over you is your birth name. She had the most beautiful green eyes and pure black hair, even darker than her father's. It confused her mother, and made her, if at all possible, love her even more.

The younger, Jonathon, had blue eyes like his father but he had his mother's mouse brown hair. Ordinary, yes, but he was her Jon. He was a frightening, and yet wonderful, surprise. Arina had not known that she was carrying twins, let alone one male and one female.

Arina was the name that she had chosen for herself in order to hide from Howl hearing the name that he had known while with her. She had known him since before he cursed himself by giving his heart to the demon Calcifer, and had stayed by his side while he went into exile. She had finished her apprenticeship, and went on to make a living selling minor spells and enchantments to local townspeople. She had sheltered her lover from the searchers while he worked out the magic to create the portal door that he later placed in his "moving castle."

Great monstrosity of a thing, it was. When she first saw it, she didn't believe that it would ever be able to move, but once again Howl proved his ingenuity through using his bound demon, Calcifer, to power the atrocity. She frowned upon his method of hiding from his old master, but did not argue, as this newest development had left her without the responsibility of keeping him just beyond Suliman's reach.

With that, he had bid her farewell, and walked out of her life forever…at least that's what they had both thought at the time.

Now, dear readers, this is where their story begins.


	2. Chapter 2

She was shopping in the local town. At least it was the one that was local after their latest shift. The quiet town bordered the wastes, and Arina wondered if there was any way that Howl would be there. She supposed he didn't do his own shopping anymore, probably sending out a servant.

Now the reader's attention is to be drawn to the fact that our heroine, Arina, does not know of the occurrences of just six months ago, and as such believes that Howl is still hiding out from Suliman, and as cowardly and alone as ever.

While browsing through some vegetable stands, her attention was caught by a flash of silver. She turned around as fast as she dared, with a basket of vegetables in her arms, and glimpsed a girl…a girl with hair the color of starlight…beautiful.

Not paying attention to your surroundings can lead to great disaster, dear readers, as Arina would soon find out. While turning around, trying to convince herself that girls don't have hair that color, her basket tumbled from her arms as a large man pushed past her to get to the neighboring fish stand.

Her vegetables spilled across the ground. People passed her, in too much of a hurry to help a young woman with her spilled groceries. She tried to collect the scattered potatoes; the tomatoes had either split on impact with the ground or had been kicked and or stepped on in the busy street. While she scrambled to refill her basket, another pair of hands joined hers and between the two of them they quickly rescued the wayward spuds.

Arina looked up to thank her helper, only to look straight into the eyes of the girl she had spotted mere moments before. She gasped, and muttered a quick "thank you" before rushing off towards her temporary portal. To her surprise and horror, the girl followed her. She purposefully avoided the portal, wanting to maintain her appearance as a normal human, and instead headed into the alleyways, hoping to lose her pursuer.

No such luck. The girl followed her closer than before, calling out to her, but there was no way Arina would allow herself to be cornered by someone who was obviously a witch or knew a magician who could brew up the potion to make her hair that color. That was just not a normal color for a girl of that age!

She finally discarded any last hopes of appearing as a normal human and dashed to her portal, disappearing through it.

She never expected to be followed.

MUAHAHAHAHA!

EVIL CLIFF-HANGER!

But hey, at least I updated


	3. Chapter 3

Normal days were all that she was seeing now. The first few months with Howl in his now-flying castle were full of delightful surprises, but by now everything was something that she had seen already and none of it excited her like it used to.

She spent three weeks convincing Howl that she needed to go shopping and that it was absolutely necessary for her to do it in her old hometown. He spent two more weeks pussy-footing around before he finally landed in the wastes so she could go to her morning market.

As soon as she stepped into the market street, she knew she was home. While she was shopping, something—or, rather, someone—caught her attention. There was nothing extraordinary about the woman's appearance, only that she had the glow of magic surrounding her.

Now the reader is probably wondering why she would be able to tell that the woman had magic, and that is a good question. Sophie had been training herself. Two weeks after she had moved into the new castle, she had begun to notice slight tingles whenever someone in the household used magic. Calcifer was a constant glow, but his was different from human magic. She helped Markl with his lessons and observed Howl while he performed routine magic around the house.

Now, six months later, she could identify almost any kind of magic around her, and this woman's glow was brighter than any human's, and nearly as bright as Howl's own glow.

She immediately noticed when the woman's basket was knocked from her hands, for she had been watching her out of the corner of her eye, and bent to help her retrieve the scattered vegetables.

When the woman looked up at her and gasped, she smiled and tried to introduce herself. Her friendly greeting was shattered when the woman dashed off into the alleyways. So, of course, Sophie followed.

"Wait! I just wanted to talk to you for a moment!"

The woman paid her no heed, only moved from her faster. She rushed to keep up with her brisk pace, and was starting to get confused as the woman went in constant circles. After a while, she saw the bright glow of an unconcealed portal. The woman dashed through it, and Sophie threw herself in after her.

Now, dear readers, is what you've been waiting for.

Arina landed on the other side of her portal and set off for the small hut that she shared with her children. She was oblivious of the girl behind her trying as hard as she could to not be detected…yet.

She opened the wooden door and sat her basket on the floor. Natalie and Jon ran to her, hugging her tightly.

"Mommy, mommy, you were gone so long!"

"Me and Jon were scared that you weren't gonna come back this time!"

"Hush, babies, Mommy's back. I bought some potatoes for dinner tonight."

The children cheered and ran over to check out the basket. Jon froze with his hand hovering above the basket.

Their intruder had been discovered.

There is your update, and now I'm going to go crash and burn…I'm so tired.

I hope you all like it.

Sayonara for now,

Starlett


	4. Chapter 4

Sophie stared.

"Uhhh…"

Arina glared. "Why did you follow me? Why! You're working for _him_ aren't you?"

The children gripped their mother's skirts. Natalie asked breathlessly, "Momma, did _he_ find us? I don't wanna be caught! I don't wanna!"

Arina bent to comfort her little girl, "I know, honey, but if _he_ wants to find us, then _he_ will find us. There's nothing that your Momma can do to stop him, _his_ magic is stronger than mine. See how her hair is silver like that? It's probably because of _him_ you know how fond he is of appearance-altering magic. No doubt it's _his_ doing." She turned to Sophie, "So when are you planning to take us to him?"

Sophie was completely lost, "Take you to who?"

Arina's head snapped up and she glared harder at the girl, "To Howl, of course. Who else would search us out?"

"But why would Howl look for you? You're just a common witch, why would he want to find you? Before I met him he always hid out from everyone looking for him. Now he doesn't hide so much…" she looked slightly perturbed.

"What do you mean? He's always been a coward…always. I've known him longer than his instructor…why would he suddenly change his ways?"

Sophie smiled gently, "A heart is a heavy burden."

Arina blinked. What? 'A heart is a heavy burden'? What's that supposed to mean?

Natalie looked at the girl still standing in their doorway, "You know what Momma? She has the gift. The thingey that you said the boy who followed you that one time had, 'member, Momma?"

The woman knelt between her children and held them to her, "Why did you follow me if not to take me to Howl? I'm sure that he'd like to find me again, the egoistical prick."

The children gasped, "Bad word, Momma."

Arina made the catholic cross over her chest and said, "Lord, forgive me."

She stretched and stood. "Well, as long as you're here, you may as well have something to drink. Don't worry, I'll go with you to Howl. I've wanted to find him again anyways, I've just been afraid that he'd want to get rid of me seeing as I know his true name…"

"You mean Howl's not his true name?" Sophie was confused. This seemed to be happening all together too often for her taste.

"No, no, his true name is hidden, probably even from himself now so that even if an enemy asked about it he'd be able to tell them truthfully that he didn't know what it is."

"Ah…I suppose that makes sense then."

Arina led the way into the small kitchen and waved a hand at the basket of potatoes, levitating it to follow her. "Come on in, child, and have a cup of tea."

Sophie followed cautiously, "I'm not a child, and you're no old maid yourself, why do you call me that?"

"I call you that simply because I know that you're a great deal younger than I am, remember that Howl pursued the Witch of the Wastes before she was banished, and she was banished fifty years ago. He and I parted ways before he ever met her. My children were born long after that." Arina glanced back at the girl with a gleam in her eyes.

"Who is their father?" Sophie asked, curious.

"I don't think that I should be telling you that just yet. However, if you ask me later, I might be a little more inclined to answer that particular question." She handed the silver-haired girl a steaming mug of tea.

Sophie took a sip of the brown liquid, "It looks like it should scald my tongue, yet it's pleasantly hot. Do you have a fire demon to heat things for you too?"

Arina chuckled lightly, "No, I don't have a fire demon, though Calcifer was always fond of me. I would never want to get myself into an agreement with a demon, even one as friendly as he is. I've had my share of demons and Sorcerers, and believe me, Suliman is one bad Sorceress, and Calcifer is a good demon."

"You really knew all of them so long ago?" Sophie sat on one of the mismatched stools around the kitchen table. "What was it like to live with Howl after he gave his heart to Calcifer? Was he changed by it? How did he make the magic of the permanent portal that's in the door? And why doesn't the door glow like most other magical items?"

Arina smiled gently and set herself for a long explanation.

Well, dear readers, and the two reviewers that I have right now, I'm so sorry that I've neglected this story for so long. I got strep throat last weekend, and was sick the whole time. Before that I had preparations for Lip-Sync and Talent show, the second of which I was unable to participate in because of said illness…

Anyways, I hope you can forgive me and this double-length update is for that time on hiatus…

I'll try to make all of my future updates at least two pages and hopefully they will become progressively longer so you can read more of this stuff that pours from my mind and through my fingertips onto the keyboard.

Well, now my time here is up, so I'll see you on the flipside…

Starlett


End file.
